March 2011

Considering what the East Coast has had to endure this season, I feel a tad guilty saying that, but the older I get the less I can tolerate extreme weather events.

My attitude about weather in Wisconsin is fairly predictable. I relish the 10 minutes of summer we get each year. Obviously, it doesn’t last long enough. Then, before I know it, it’s back-to-school time, bringing cooler days and crisper nights, football games and cozy sweaters. Halloween and Thanksgiving and the accompanying get-togethers with family and friends are great. Come December I start to get a little excited about Christmas and hope for snow to have that authentic-looking backdrop for my holiday frivolity. In January, I put on a brave face as my family sleds, skates and tubes our way through the longest month of winter. Feb. 1 arrives and, like clockwork, I’m ready to blow this Popsicle stand.

This year, however, to break up the monotony I’ve set mini goals for myself so I have things to look forward to. I won’t bore you with all of them, but one entailed a Moms-only weekend in Milwaukee last month. The anticipation I had for the trip, not to mention actually going on it, were just what I needed to put a little spring in my step. A change of scenery, a few laughs and no one needing me, if only for a night, were the icing on the cake. I’m sure my family agrees it was good for everyone involved.

Another mini goal of mine is to mix it up in the kitchen a bit. I seem to make the same things over and over and I’m determined to sample some of the recipes in Shana Conradt’s "Getting Fit With Food." The book features 101 nutritious (and, equally important, delicious) meal ideas. Be sure to read more about Shana and her labor of love.

So… here we are in March. Technically, the first day of spring is March 20. (Whether it feels like spring remains to be seen.) That being said, we are nearing the finish line of this seemingly endless marathon of cold, wind, snow and ice we’ve had to endure for so many weeks. There is light at the end of the tunnel...

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